Method of extracting turpentine from wood.



No. 881,787. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908. J. .G. GARDNER. METHOD OF BXTRAGTING TURPENTINE FROM WOOD.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11, 1905.

v UNITED s 'rrhrnur cur os.-

JOSHUA c. GARDNER, or J cKsouvILLE; FLORIDA, ASSIGNOR reruns WHITE runrsurmn i t COMPANY, or JACKSONVILLE, rnonrn s conromrrrou orrLoiun i.

' METHOD OF nx'rrlac'rmo TURPENTINE FROM woon.

useful improvements in Methods ;ol lflxw trscting flTurpent ne from food. of ,.wh1 chthe "following a specification.

This'invention relates to a method ex traetglngf tur entineffrorn wood, especially.

when'the lat er is in aIc-onditioir of sawdust or ground up wood are thefapidit y with which the fturpentine can be extracted and thelerge yield thereotj l donot destroyany of the valuableproper; tics of the turpentine, andin 'thls' wa v secure a product ,wlii'cl'r can be rhai'keterl for use in Ii'llXlIiQ, with paints" and varmsh,

a" part of this specification, 1' illustrate in sectional elevatioh' an apparatus suitable for carry ng; out my method. I- do not however limit myself to the showing thus made, for certain VttIltLtlODS may beadopted withiu'the scope ol'n'ly claims,

in the drawing show a retort f2 and a bin:

Subovethe same, each in'the ina'in QfCYlllldricnl-l'orm. 'lhe retort ,and bin are connected to angle brackets, as 4, united rigidly in some desirableway to thevertiiml timbers 5 co'nstitutin; a convenient training for carrying the retort and bin. The sawdust or ground up Wood is supplied in practice in some positive inanner to the bin 3), and for this: purpose I have illustrated" a con\'e ,'er, denoted in a gene a! way by 6.- theconveycr serving: to deliver the material through the open topol' the bin. The sawdust, alter the turpentine and other products havev been extracted t-herelronrin the bin, can be utilized in a furnace. as fuel. "'lhe'i'ewrt' l has a hingedbottom,his 7, which, during-"the ex' traction ol the turpentine from-the mass of sawdust in said'reto'rt, is closed. The diamcteiyol' the-lunged bot torn 'is substantially the san icns,thut olthe retort. so that, when the door orbottom 7 o'penml-;'the contents of the retort can lie-rapidly tilSCllltIgGti'illGl'G- from. The contents are,=in tact, d. 'iscliarged in bulkl'ronl tlurrctort.= The top ol' the re tort hasa not" provided with a swinging cover, a 8,, 'nch, duriu extraction, is also closed, butlwhich will be opened to charge the retort with the wdust or groundwo'od Specification of Letters Patent.

Some of the rulvantages of the invention ends roses oi some suitable Patented March 10, 190B.

' Application filed March 11, 1905. .Serial No. 249,646.,

order to adr to theetlicienc froin the bin. The capacities ol'= the bin d; retort are erl ual, or substantmlly equal, 1n of the appa- 1 ratus, for, while i am extractlng the turpentine from the mass of sawdust in the retort, I can be su plying to the bin a freshmass of sawdust. n the bottom of the bull ar and being ofthe sliding type. The valve will, of course, be closed whenthe sawdust H is being, delivered into the bin.

range a valve, the valve beingdenoted by The retort has a false bottom weennected with the drop down, door 7, 'but spaced from the same. The mass in-thie retort is sustained direct-lyby the false bottom, the latter being of perforated or foraminousmaterial, so as to provide forthe passage of the vapor therethrough, which is H impregnated with the turpentine, the va/por l'nthe drawing: accompanying and, forming passing through a nipple-or pipe section 11 connected centrally with the drop down An attachable conneetlon, not 1llusr while the process is being carried on, to

agitation, and for this purpose show two stlrrers, denoted in a general way by 12, and

each consisting of a vertically disposed shaft having paddles thereon, the paddles- ,being located at suitable intervals and being of such character that'the twops-hafts will,

pletely stir up the mass in the retort. The lower ends of the shafts of the stirrcrs 12 are stepped in bearings located near the bottom or drop down doorof the retort. The upper portions of said shafts extend througl-i the top of the retort and carry wheels, which may be band wheels, or soinetl'ling of anwhen each has made one full turn. com

equivalent nature. as 1.3, by which the said stirrers or agitat ors can be, operated Lead' 1g into the retort, substantiallymidway of the height thereof, are one or more steam pipes as l4, havin at their delivery kind to deliver downwardly ets of steam, each'pipe having a valve for controlling the flow of steam.

Through the top of the retort a valved steam pipe, as 15, is led, having at its delivery end disposed to deliver downwardly a jet of the steam,

Into the bin 3 I extend steam pipes 1 6,

the delivery end one being located near 80' i I sub ect the sawdust inassin the retort,

the receiving end of the retort, while the delivery end of the lower pipe is located near the discharge end of the said retort and dis-' charges steam into said bin. The steam from the two pipes flowing Into the bin thoroughly saturates the sawdust or ground wood in the retort, while the jet of steam from the upper pipe 16 so acts as to strike the dust as it drops into said bin, by reason of which the'saturation of the sawdust in the bin is one that can be accomplished in a comparatively short space of time. When the sawdust is thoroughly saturated, this will be indicated by the odor thereof, at which point the steam is cut off from the pi es 16 and naturally from the bin.

y the preliminary saturation, I bring out the turpentine or soften or cook the wood, so that when the mass is delivered into the retort the extracting step is one that can be accomplished in a short space of time. When the sawdust is thoroughly saturated, the top or cover 8 of the retort 2 is opened and the valve 9 opened wide, so as to permit the saturated mass of sawdust or ground wood in the bin to drop bodily therefrom and in a heated condition into the retort.

- By the arrangement of piping I heat and saturate every particle o dust as it enters the bin. After having admitted the'saturated and heated mass of dust into the retort 2, I open the valves in the several pipes 14 and 15, the steam from the pipes passing downward at vertically separated places through the mass of previously ieated dust, the vapor, laden with turientine, passing through theperforated ialse bottom 10 and out through the outlet )ipe 11. When the mass in the retort 2 is thoroughly steamed I cut oil the steam from the pipes 14, but permit the steam to flow through the pi e 15 and entirely through. the mass. In orr er that the steam admitted into the retort shall-reacl'i every part of the contentsthereof, I utilize the stirrers 12 which, while the steam is being admitted, are in motion so as to thoroughly agitate or loosen up the mass in order to permit the steam to strike every particle thereof. Should there be any tendency of the mass to arch, the stirrors will break the arch. After the turpentine has been thoroughly extracted from the sawdust or ground. wood in the retort I open the hinged bottom or drop down door- 7 and permit the entire con.- tcnts of the retort to fall out at once or in bulk.

Ordinarily I arrange 'within the bin 35 stlrrers or agitators, each designated in a general way by 20, and which are substantially like the agitators 12 hereinbefore described in detail. The agitators 20, as will be obvious, prevent arching of the ground up massin the bin.

I desire to state at this point that I adopted the title for my invention simply for convenience. I have described the method as utilized for the extraction of turpentine from wood. restrict myself in. this method can be employed or extracting other volatile substances and byproducts from ground up wood. One of these volatile products is methyl alcohol. By my method and apparatus I am enabled, without having recourse to destructive distillation, to recover valuable products from a substance (sawdust) which ordinarily oes to waste. By the invention I secure highly volatile products, such as turpentine and a 001101 in a clean, pure condition, ready for the market, immediately after leaving the apparatus or after the cessation of the process. I have found that the color of the by roducts of wood is regulated entirely by t e temperature. When the heat of the steam is substantially 212 Fah; turpentine andmethyl alcohol, come over. The Water color products come over between 212 and 225 F ah., and from 225 to 250 Fab. they begin to get yellow, and the pyroligneous acids come over. At 50 Fah. more the gases come over, such, for example, as marsh gas. At 50 Fah. more, the wood oils come over. From 380 Fab. to 400'Fah., all the byroducts leave the wood, and are entirely h lack, such'as pitch and tar.

It will be apparent, from what I have stated, that the main feature of the invention is in subjecting the sawdust or ground up wood to the action of a low degree of heat, or one sullicient sim )ly to result in the extraction of highly vo atilo products, such as turpentine and alcohol therefrom.

From what has been hcreinbclore stated it will'be evident that my method consists in forming a mass of ground up wood into a dense body and conlining the same in a vertical manner and then directing steam in a vertical direction downward through the confined dense mass. So far as I am aware, I am the lirst one to practice this method. By experiments extending over a long period of time I iind that it is not ossiblc to extract turpentine from a mass 0 sawdust by forcing th steam upwardly through the material. .1 direct the steam downward through the mass and am enabled not only by so doing to extract the turpentine from the woody material in a thorough manner, but I am enabled to do so in a short space of time. In fact, I have been able to extract a large quan tity of turpentine from a mass of wood in as short a time as half an hour. To secure the best possible effect I prefer to loosen up the mass either mechanically or otherwise, so that the extracting steam can reach every part of the material to thoroughly remove the turpentine therefrom. From a consideration of the foregoing, it will be evident I do not however articular, for the i that I have set forthdnechanical means to open up paths for the steam through the mass, but this is not essential.

Having thus described the invention, when I claim is:

1.. A method which consists in forming a mass of sawdust or ground up wood in a dense body and confining the same vertically and then during such confinement forcing steam downwardly entirely through the mass.

' 2. A method which consists of forming a mass of sawdust or ground up wood into a dense body, confining the mass in a vertical direction, forcing steam downwardly entirely through the mass and opening-up paths in the mass for through.

3. A method which consists in forming a mass of saw-dust or ground-up wood into a vertically confined body and then forcing steam through the mass solely in a downward direction. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of the subscribing witnesses.

JOSHUA G. GARDNER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM P. SMITH, JAMES RoYELL, H. B. SMITH.

the passage of steam there- 

